Digitizing Odonata species of southern Nigeria

There is no datasets associated with this project

The Odonata order (dragonflies and damselflies) are good bioindicator insect species for the assessing the effect of climate change on habitats such as wetlands, rivers, streams, and riparian forests. Unfortunately, knowledge of Odonata in Nigeria is incomplete, with diversity and distribution data not readily available. As a result, ecosystem quality assessments and monitoring hardly receive proper attention from taxonomists, and environmental biologists rely on inefficient family- or genus-level identifications. Although global efforts are underway towards detailed knowledge of the diversity of Odonata, the feasibility depends largely on the identified species at regional levels.

Some studies have focused on diversity, banking and DNA barcoding of odonates in southern Nigeria, however, data collation on the order as a whole is unavailable. Compiling these records for improved access is therefore important. This project will focus on capacity building for postgraduate students and researchers within conservation, and mobilize and publish relevant species records to GBIF.org. Aligned with the sustainable development goal on Climate change, the project will assess the effects of anthropogenic activities on the region’s Odonata fauna, and also digitize well-curated and catalogued Odonata specimens to enhance the contribution of Nigerian insect museums to GBIF.